I Can't Leave You Alone For Five Minutes, Can I?
by SsilverStreak
Summary: Sequel to Bugs and Blizzards. When Nathalie and Theo gave their Miraculouses back to Master Fu, their task completed, they thought that would be the end of it. Paris had a new Ladybug and Chat Noir now. Of course, they could never leave each other alone without the other getting into trouble. But they'd always be there for each other. After all, what are partners for?
1. Chapter 1

"Pick up, pick up, pick up-!" Nathalie hissed as the phone rang against her ear, skidding to a halt and flinging herself back into an alley as a thrown car crashed into the spot she _would_ have been standing in approximately two seconds, doing her best to calm her racing heart. Oh please oh please oh please don't let this be the day he forgot-

 _Click_ "Hello?"

"Theo! I could _really_ use some help today." Nathalie panted, clutching at her chest and feeling the hard object she had stuffed into her bra dig into her breastbone, only slightly blunted by the cloth it was wrapped in.

"… Is this another of your 'I can't leave you alone for five minutes' things, Nathalie?"

"… I refuse to answer that."

"Okay, seriously, what did you do, and why are you so close to an akuma attack that I can hear the battle?"

"Theo, _I stole a Miraculous._ "

"… _What_."

* * *

Nathalie honestly hadn't begun her day planning to do something that was surely going to get her fired- or worse.

The entire household was walking on eggshells. Gabriel was launching a new line in just a few short days, and with mounting delays in production came a boss who was on his last nerve, and the slightest inconvenience was seen as tap-dancing all over it.

For once, Nathalie wasn't bearing the brunt of Gabriel's wrath. In fact, it was mere chance that things had worked out as they had.

What was it Theo had called it once? 'Once a Ladybug, always a Ladybug'.

Regardless, apparently her Ladybug luck had all been saved up to use at once. It was Nathalie's only explanation later for how tiny little delays had caused her usual report to Gabriel of his appointments to be a few minutes late. And how, as she was hurrying towards his office, the maid that had been vacuuming suddenly turned the machine off so she could empty it, just in time for her to overhear the yelling coming from his office. Nathalie slowed, simultaneously feeling sorry for whoever was on the other end of Gabriel's latest tantrum and glad that it wasn't her.

The clattering of Gabriel slamming his landline phone down (she knew that he felt that pushing a button on a smartphone just didn't have the same impact behind it) brought her to a halt just a meter away from the office door. Nathalie took a deep breath, then flinched as the soft rumble of the door that Gabriel probably _thought_ was secret in his office vibrated through the soles of her shoes, more felt than heard.

Ugh, that meant that there was going to be an akuma sometime in the next ten to fifteen minutes, and she was going to have to reschedule _everything._

Muttering to herself about man-babies and their tantrums, she waited for the rumble to come again, and then counted to ten before carefully peeking in to make sure that the 'hidden' door was shut.

Honestly, half of the household staff knew it was there. And hiding it behind a bookshelf was annoyingly cliché.

Finding the office empty, and needing to drop off some files anyway, Nathalie stepped inside, already mentally working out what would need to be rescheduled depending on how long the akuma lasted and what part of the city it ended up in.

' _Need to let the Gorilla know that Adrien will probably be late and not to worry – why is that painting resting like that?'_

Nathalie frowned, trying to figure out how the large painting of Mrs. Agreste (wherever she was, probably couldn't take any more of Gabriel's dramatics, although she'd like to give her a solid punch as well for leaving Adrien behind) could look like one side was a few centimeters further from the wall than the other.

Okay, probably because it _was_.

Already certain that she was probably doing something that Theo would claim he couldn't leave her alone for five minutes for, but also far too curious to leave it alone, Nathalie approached the painting and nudged it open a little further with the back of her hand.

… Oh, come on Gabriel, a safe behind a painting? Was he just trying to tick off all of the items on a supervillain checklist at this point?

And it appeared to have not closed all of the way, the edge of the door a half centimeter or so from being flush with the wall. It was probably what had kept the painting from swinging back to its normal position.

… She should leave. She shouldn't touch the safe, or she should close it completely and get out. She could do the filing later.

A rumble, this one deeper than that caused by the secret door, made the entire mansion tremble. A scant heartbeat later, a roar followed it, probably only a few blocks away (and it was sad that she had gotten good at judging that).

Nathalie was tired of what she _should_ do.

Yanking a handkerchief out of the small purse she kept on her (pockets, who did she have to kill to get _pockets_ in fashionable clothes), Nathalie tugged the safe open.

She wasn't sure what she expected… sensitive documents, maybe? Something she could use against him... but the safe itself wasn't incredibly full. A picture of Mrs. Agreste, a booklet about Tibet, a few files, and…

Nathalie could tell immediately what the flared pin was. Once one has felt the warmth and pull of a Miraculous, it was hard to mistake one for a random piece of jewelry. It called to her, tugging at something deep down that wanted to help, to make things _better_ …

She pulled her hand back from where she had been reaching for it. No, as many things as Gabriel was, he wasn't stupid. If this came up missing, and then someone who heavily resembled his assistant showed up as a new peacock-themed hero, she wouldn't even have the time to kiss her own ass goodbye.

But neither could she leave a Miraculous, or the kwami inside, to whatever Gabriel was planning. She highly doubted that he was just trying to collect the Miraculouses to put them on display.

Using the handkerchief, she picked up the peacock-fan shaped pin, feeling the warmth even through the cloth, but not setting it off without it touching her skin. Another rumble vibrated the mansion, and she used the back of her hand to nudge the safe completely shut, then the painting over it. Carefully, she finished wrapping the pin in the handkerchief, and considered placing it in her purse. No, if Gabriel caught her before she could get it to safety, he would want to search it. Someplace he wouldn't…

It took a few seconds to slip it into her bra and adjust the cloth covered lump so that it wouldn't show through her clothes. Gathering up all of the files she had been intending to leave, Nathalie hurried out of the office, trying to calm her racing heart so as to not draw Hawkmoth's attention.

The last thing she needed was to be akumatized while trying to get it to the Guardian. Akuma were appearing more frequently, and for all she knew, Hawkmoth was growing strong enough to send out two at once now.

The very thought chilled her to the bone.

Typing out a quick email to her boss claiming that she had come down with the stomach flu and had no desire to get the rest of the staff; or Adrien and Gabriel himself; sick and would be taking the rest of the day off, Nathalie took a deep breath and hurried out the back.

At least the Akuma battle would keep Gabriel distracted for a little while.

* * *

"… Nathalie, I can't leave you alone for five minutes."

"So you've said, now are you going to meet me at the Guardian's home or not?" Nathalie snapped, waiting for the street to clear out and the battle to move down the road before darting across.

"… You know I've always got your back, Bug." Nathalie nearly choked on her own breath. How long had it been since she had heard those words?

Their last battle, before they had given the Miraculouses back to Master Fu.

"… I know you do, Tomcat. It's why I called," She finally breathed out, pausing in the sheltered entryway to a shop as the current pair were flung overhead and quickly out of sight, soon followed by the Akuma of the day (was that a three-meter-tall Minotaur? Seriously?). "I've got to go, I'll see you at Fu's."

"I'll be there." Nathalie didn't wait for Theo to hang up, instead quickly hitting the End Call button with her thumb before shoving her phone back into her purse and racing for the alley across, stumbling partway as the ground shook again, more violently this time.

She was _so_ getting fired for this, but so long as the Miraculous was placed safely with the Guardian (which would coincidentally give Fu another weapon in his arsenal to aim at Gabriel's smug face), somehow Nathalie couldn't bring herself to care.


	2. Chapter 2

Nathalie didn't wait for Theo before going into Master Fu's.

The main reason was that she didn't need the fight coming back around and Hawkmoth seeing her going into the place through the Akuma's eyes. The fact that Gabriel seemed to be trying to collect the Miraculouses meant that the last thing Master Fu needed was to have him show up on his doorstep to get the ones he had.

Granted, not that the Guardian would go down without a fight, but he certainly wasn't getting any younger, either.

Not that Nathalie was stupid enough to tell him that. It had only taken once for her to learn that Master Fu was _painfully_ accurate with that cane of his for scolding young Wielders.

Theo had taken quite a bit longer, the stubborn Tomcat.

Thankfully the street was clear, and the vibrations from the Akuma that came up through the soles of her shoes told her that it was probably several blocks away at this point, so Nathalie took her chance and darted across, pausing only for long enough to glance around and make sure she wasn't being watched before slipping into the shop that served as the front for Master Fu's home.

Only when the door was shut behind her did Nathalie allow herself to lean back against it and gasp for breath, a little of the tension draining out of her. Thankfully the shop was empty, and she didn't have to worry about being calm or put together before she was ready.

"Nathalie? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Nathalie jumped and most certainly _did not_ squeak, thank you very much, then shot a glare at the far too amused old man that was smiling at her. "Noise! When you walk!" She hissed.

"Ah, but then I wouldn't have the joy of making you jump because you weren't paying attention," Master Fu chuckled. "Allow an old man his small joys in life."

"Not when they come at _my_ expense," Nathalie muttered, straightening up. "And I have something for you. Theo should be on his way as well."

"And why did you feel the need to call him?" Master Fu asked, beginning to limp towards the back of the shop where his living quarters were while gesturing for her to follow.

"I…" Nathalie allowed her voice to trail off, well aware now that she thought about it that she didn't have a reason, not really. "It… felt right, I suppose."

"He was your partner. Even if the memories are more difficult to access now, deep in your bones, the both of you still remember that." Master Fu began to putter around his small kitchen, putting on some water for tea. "No partnership among the Wielders could ever truly forget each other."

"… I worry, sometimes, that he will," Nathalie said as she sat at the low table, knowing better than to offer to help. The one time she had tried, she had ended up with sore shins and an admonishment to allow an old man his pride.

"Have a little more faith in him, and yourself." With the water heating, Master Fu limped over to the table and sat down with a small wince. Nathalie carefully schooled her expression into her blank 'working' mask. Even if he had his pride, it was clear the Guardian was getting on in years, and as he had put it once, 'Some days are worse than others'. From the way he was leaning on his cane, it was clear that this was one of the bad ones. "Now, you said you had something for me?"

"Ah, yes." Flushing slightly in embarrassment, Nathalie dug in her bra for the hard, covered lump that had been steadily working on a bruise as she ran, pulling it out and making sure it was still wrapped in her handkerchief before sliding it across the table.

Master Fu hummed, picking it up and sliding the cloth aside, only to still. His only reaction was a long, deep intake of breath, and Nathalie blinked as Wayzz shot over from wherever he had been to perch on his Chosen's shoulder.

"… So. You have brought Duusu back." The warm smile that Master Fu shot her almost, _almost_ made up for the fact that she was probably going to get fired for this, and she returned it with a tight smile of her own, only to jump and bite back a yelp at a sudden _BANG_ from the front of the shop.

"You are replacing the door if you break it, Theo!" Master Fu called, neither of them needing to look up to know who it was.

"In my defense, the damn fight keeps zigzagging all over the area and I had to get in while I could," Theo grumbled as he entered, another small shudder of the ground adding emphasis to his words. "Apparently this one is fast as hell and likes creating earthquakes or something by punching things."

"Hmm…" Nathalie frowned as Master Fu hummed softly to himself, thoughtfully stroking the point of his beard with three fingers.

"I know that look. You're plotting something, old man," Theo grumped, plopping down beside Nathalie and almost immediately draping himself across her shoulders, then wincing as she dug an elbow into his side. "Ow, not so hard Bug."

"Then stop laying on me, Tomcat. You're heavy."

"That's a lie, we both know you could still pick me up if you wanted."

"Children." Nathalie flushed slightly at being caught out. That was just how things seemed to go between her and Theo: constant bickering with no real heat behind it. "You did well in calling Theo here, Nathalie. I wanted to talk to the both of you."

"Aaaand there's the plotting." Theo winced as another elbow met his side, and finally gave in and straightened up. He spotted the Miraculous still resting in Master Fu's hand, and gave a low whistle. "Damn Nathalie, you weren't kidding. Also, yes, this qualifies as another 'I can't leave you alone for five minutes' thing."

Nathalie ignored his yelp as she once again elbowed Theo in the ribs.

"I've been thinking." Master Fu went on, pointedly ignoring Nathalie and Theo as they poked and prodded at each other. "I am sure that you have both noticed that Hawkmoth grows in power."

"Half of Paris has noticed by this point," Theo grumbled from where Nathalie had him in a headlock, somehow managing to sit up straight and look prim and proper as always at the same time.

"Yes, we've both noticed," Nathalie said, shooting Theo a small glare. When he began to wiggle to get free, she calmly carded her fingers through his hair, smirking slightly as he almost immediately went limp against her with a loud purr.

"… As much as I appreciate you subduing him, what I have to say is important and I do need Theo's undivided attention."

Nathalie flushed slightly, but took the small scolding for what it was and let Theo go, whereupon he sat up beside her and worked in vain to fix his hair after she messed it up.

" _Thank you_." Master Fu huffed, then twitched and drooped a little as the kettle squealed. "And the universe does not want to allow me my dramatic moments it seems."

"I'll get it." Theo offered, getting up and hopping over the cane making for his shins as he headed towards the kitchen.

"You would think he would have learned by now," The Guardian grumbled.

"He just likes getting a reaction out of people. It's how he shows he cares, in his own weird way," Nathalie replied. "That and I think he takes it as a challenge."

"As if you aren't as equally hard headed. You're just better at hiding it." Master Fu nodded at Theo as he came back in, carrying the teapot containing the hot water as well as three cups and several teabags on a tray.

"Bug is just better at picking her battles." Theo grinned as he plopped down beside her, taking his own teacup. "Sorta. Well, better than me."

"Theo, you once tried to pick a fight with a swan."

"… Okay, not one of my finer moments." The young man beside her sulked as he waited for his tea to steep.

"Against my better judgement, I feel I need the full story behind that one."

"We were suited up and patrolling, and Theo was convinced that the swan was giving him the stink eye and long story short he now has a permanent fear of waterfowl."

"They are evil demons from the pit of hell and no one can convince me otherwise."

"Theo, they're just birds."

" _Hell_ birds, Bug."

"As entertaining as this all is, I need the two of you to focus," Master Fu sighed. Sometimes it felt like trying to corral a pair of five-year-olds with these two.

"Yes. Right. Hawkmoth is getting stronger. And this affects us how?" Nathalie sighed, decided that her tea was strong enough and removing the teabag, then taking a sip.

"Because I feel that this generation's Ladybug and Chat Noir could use some help. And while I have been considering a few people to pass the remaining Miraculouses to, with the return of the Peacock, I feel that perhaps experience would be more useful than youth in this battle."

It took approximately three and a half seconds for the implications to hit Nathalie, upon which she promptly choked on her tea. She set her teacup down and feet Theo lightly pat her back as she struggled to catch her breath between coughing.

Once she could finally breathe without inhaling tea, Nathalie took several deep breaths before looking suspiciously down at the remaining liquid in her cup. "Okay, what did you put into this, because I _know_ that you didn't just suggest that Theo and I get back out there."

"I hardly need to drug your tea for that." Master Fu smirked slightly as he sipped at his own cup. "After all, you have a far better chance of, how did you put it during your last visit? 'Punching your smug asshole supervillain boss in the nose', as I recall. Yes, you have a far better chance of doing so with a little help."

Nathalie swallowed, mouth suddenly dry from the horrible, terrible temptation. Her skin near crawled with the itch of it, the _need_ to feel the wind on her face and power coursing through her veins. The rush of being Ladybug had been near addicting, and giving the Miraculous back when her task was complete had been one of the hardest things she had ever had to do.

"You've always picked teenagers before, though." Theo pointed out. "Easier to get away to transform and more energy to burn, that's what you told us. Why change things up now?"

"I did have a few possible Holders in mind that fit that description," The Guardian admitted, sharing a glance with Wayzz. "But at this point I believe that Hawkmoth is growing far too dangerous to bring more teenagers into the fight, especially ones who will have a horrible learning curve at this point, just getting used to the Miraculous. You two, on the other hand, have experience. Even if they aren't the ones you used before, you will adapt far quicker to new ones than someone brand new to being a Holder would be able to learn. And I would still have a final Miraculous in reserve, should more reinforcements be needed. Having four experienced Holders to fall back on instead of two would make it safer for whoever the final Chosen would end up being."

"And, if worst comes to worst, my partner is prepared to pass the Turtle Bracelet on to someone younger, who could enter the fight like he wishes he still could," Wayzz added solemnly. "Although we hope it doesn't come to that for a while yet."

Theo and Nathalie shared a glance. "It's really getting that bad?"

"The Butterfly is one of the two Miraculouses meant almost completely for battle," Master Fu said softly. "The other being the Bee. The two in the past have often worked well together, with the Butterfly creating Champions to give advantages against whatever foe or situation the Bee is facing."

"So, you want to give one of us the Bee?" Nathalie guessed.

"No. I wish to keep the Bee in reserve for now." Master Fu gave a slight, mischievous grin. "And perhaps find a Holder who wants even more than you do to give Hawkmoth a piece of their mind."

"Peacock and Fox then," Theo said.

"I can't be the Peacock. Leaving alone the fact that Adrien would start sneezing anytime he's within five feet of me, Hawkmoth may be an idiot, but he's going to be _pissed_ once he figures out it's gone, and to have someone who looks an awful lot like his assistant show up wielding it?" Nathalie shook her head.

"My thoughts exactly. Whoever becomes the Peacock will have an additional target on their back. Best to give it to someone who doesn't move in the same circles, and has experience with defending himself." The Guardian smirked slightly. "Besides, as you would be closest of all to Hawkmoth, you'll need to be clever to avoid detection. Trixx and the Fox Miraculous will help you there."

Theo opened his mouth, and Nathalie immediately elbowed him in the side. "Say _one_ vixen joke and I never give you scritches again." Theo's mouth snapped shut and he shot her a horrified look.

"You _wouldn't_!"

" _One._ "

"Are you two done bickering like small children?" Master Fu sighed, briefly pondering throwing the Miraculous at the Ladyblog girl like he had been planning to do originally. But no, he wasn't fully convinced of her ability to keep things a secret. Perhaps once Hawkmoth was dealt with.

Nathalie shot Theo one last, firm look, in which response he pouted, before turning apologetically back to the Guardian. "We're sorry."

"Perhaps I should just give you the Miraculouses now so that you can go out and help Ladybug and Chat Noir. Preferably before my house and shop are leveled."

The ground trembled again, as if to emphasize his words, and a little dust fell from overhead. Master Fu shot Wayzz a scolding look. "You said you had dusted."

"I can only do so much when the dust rag is bigger than me."

"I'll help you do it again later, but for now, could you please get the Fox Miraculous?" Wayzz nodded and shot off behind Theo and Nathalie, both of whom knew better than to turn around and watch what he was doing. Instead, they paid closer attention to Master Fu, who placed the small bundle still holding the Peacock on the table and slid it across to Theo. "I apologize for the lack of ceremony, but I don't think any of us need it at this point."

"Wait a second. Neither of us actually agreed to this," Nathalie protested.

"Were you going to?"

"I-"

"Yes," Theo said, reaching for the handkerchief-wrapped pin. "We'll do it."

"Theo!" Nathalie hissed, only to be met by fierce brown eyes, almost honey colored in the light.

"Nathalie, we never turned down the call before, and I'm not about to start now." His expression gentled, and he let out a long breath. "And I can't… I _won't_ do it without you, Bug. We're a team. Always have been, and always will be. Even if we can't stand each other sometimes." He swallowed, set the Miraculous down, and brushed her hand with his before twining their fingers together. "We've always had each others' backs, even when things were at their darkest. Nathalie, Bug, lovebug… be my partner again?"

Nathalie took a deep breath, sighed, and gently squeezed his hand. "You always know how to sweet talk me into things, Tomcat," She muttered, voice low and warm with affection.

"Together?" Theo asked softly.

"Together." Nathalie gave a decisive nod, giving his hand another squeeze before letting go, although not without a small amount of regret.

"Good." Nathalie looked up to see Wayzz hovering above the table, a necklace with a curled fox tail dangling from his tiny paws. Carefully, he floated down to place it before her, then zipped back to Master Fu.

By unspoken accord, Nathalie waited for Theo to unwrap the Peacock pin, until it lay cradled and shimmering on top of the handkerchief. Sharing one last glance with her partner, they reached out and pressed their fingers to the Miraculouses at the same time.

As soon as bare skin contacted the warm Miraculouses, they burst into bright light.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the twin lights faded, chaos erupted.

Nathalie, Theo, and Master Fu all dove for cover as a tiny blue form with a trailing tail shot around the room, crowing "FREE! FREE AT LAST!" in a squeaky female voice, even as she ran into things in her haste. More than one teacup was sacrificed to Duusu's glee, and Nathalie winced and rubbed her ears as off-key trills followed her delighted laughter.

She stilled as she felt a tiny weight suddenly burrow into her hair, and glanced as far up as she could, until her eyes hurt a little from the strain, only to see a tiny, grinning, orange and white face with oversized ears staring back.

With a little brown paw, the miniature fox gestured for Nathalie to be quiet, then crouched down in her hair, using it for (rather ineffective, to be fair) camouflage.

Well, up until Duusu came streaking past, upon which Trixx launched herself off of Nathalie's head, tackling the Peacock out of the air with a delighted squeal. "Duusu! I missed you!"

"Who? What?" Duusu tumbled tail-over-teakettle several times in the air, a giggling little orange form clinging to her, before she managed to right herself and take stock. "Trixx! Trixx! I missed you, too!" She trilled, clutching tightly back.

"It's been too long, bluebird!" Trixx squealed, letting go of the hug only to sweep in excited circles around the other kwami. "I haven't seen you in almost a century!"

Duusu dove right back in to hug Trixx again, seemingly unable to get enough of the other kwami's presence. "Oh Trixx, Trixx, after that mean man shut me away I was worried I'd never see any of you again, especially you!"

"What mean man? Let me at 'im, I'll bite him where it hurts and then hide his keys!" The tiny fox bristled, tail floofing up to twice its normal size as she gave a growl that was surprisingly loud for her size.

"Um…" Nathalie hesitated before straightening up, as it seemed that she was no longer in danger of having a hyperactive kwami slam into her head. "Perhaps I can explain?"

The pair looked down, and Trixx disengaged herself from the hug to float down and hover at eye level with Nathalie. "You're my new Holder, yes?"

"Yes. I'm Nathalie, and this is Theo." She gestured to the young man picking himself up beside her. "And I was the one that found Duusu's Miraculous and brought it to the Guardian."

"Where did you find it?" Nathalie could see Trixx's tail begin to bristle, and her mind immediately shot to mental images of the tiny fox tormenting Gabriel.

… While it was a very nice thought, it probably wouldn't help much at the moment.

"In my boss's personal safe that he mistakenly left open. However, things are more complicated than that."

"Complicated how? And wait…" Trixx's eyes narrowed, and she floated a little closer to Nathalie. "How did you know to bring Duusu to the Guardian?"

Nathalie blinked, having to cross her eyes a little to focus on the tiny god. "I was the last Ladybug before the current one, and Theo here was the previous Chat Noir."

Trixx blinked, falling a few inches in the air before catching herself. "Okay, now I know things are bad, if the Guardian is calling up previous Holders."

"It doesn't happen often?" Theo asked, curious even as he held his hands out in an inviting perch for Duusu, which she happily accepted.

"It has a few times, but it's rare," The little Peacock confirmed. "You two already know about the lifelong affect being a Holder has on a person. Those effects don't go away if you take on a new Miraculous, instead they're added to. So you'll be dealing with both cat and bird side effects if you continue on this route," She stated seriously, fluffing up her little tail before smoothing the feathers together in a single train to drape over his fingers.

Nathalie sighed, having suspected as much. "At this point, we have little choice. I wasn't kidding when I said that things are complicated."

"Nooroo is being misused," Wayzz said bluntly as he floated up, making Trixx and Duusu jerk back in shock. "His Holder is calling himself Hawk Moth, and instead of creating Champions to protect and defend, he's creating Villains to destroy, which he hides behind. And he wants the rest of us, although for what purpose we have no idea. He's growing stronger, and Ladybug and Chat Noir are growing overwhelmed. At this point, experience is needed more than youthful energy."

"And he's my boss," Nathalie stated with a grumble. "But I haven't been able to do anything about what I know. Until now, anyways."

"This Hawk Moth is the one that was keeping Duusu locked up?" Trixx hissed, her tail fuzzing out. "Ooooh, hiding his keys is too good for him. I'm going to leave _presents_ in his shoes."

Nathalie blinked, then gave a slight grin. "Only as long as you clean it up before the maids have to. It's not fair to leave that on them."

"Oooo, and make him think he's imagining it and going crazy." Trixx grinned. showing off tiny fangs and giving a little twirl in the air. "I like the way you think."

The ground gave another little tremor, and Nathalie winced. "Okay, bonding a little later, right now Ladybug and Chat Noir are dealing with an Akuma that's giving them a lot more trouble than usual, and they could probably use some help. What are my abilities and how do I access them?"

"Foxes are illusionists. You'll have a flute, don't worry if you don't know how to play, just let instinct drive that. To call up illusions, you have to focus tightly on what illusion you want to create. Like any Miraculous user, you'll be faster and stronger than normal, but the Fox isn't meant for battle. You have claws to protect you for long enough to hopefully get away, but try to stay hidden and never let it get to the point that you need to use them. Your special ability is Nightmare, you call up an illusion of the target's greatest fear in hopes of paralyzing them. It doesn't work very well on the strong willed, and only lasts for three minutes, and after using it you only have five minutes before you change back."

Another rumble shook the building, closer this time, and Nathalie winced as her words became more hurried. "What food do you prefer?"

"Protein heavy things. Meat or nuts. My favorite is pecans, but I'm not so picky that I can't eat anything else. Except peanuts. I hate peanuts." The little fox's tail fuzzed out. "Stupid things aren't even real nuts."

"Okay, we need to get out there and the rest we'll have to figure out as we go." Nathalie took a deep breath as she slipped the Fox Miraculous's chain over her head, allowing the curled fox tail to settle against her skin before saying the words that she had missed saying for almost a decade. "Trixx, _transformer moi_!"

The tiny fox gave an excited squeal as she dove for the necklace, being absorbed within and turning it from a dull pewter to a brilliant orange and white. Nathalie closed her eyes as she felt warm, tickly power wash over her, leaving behind strength and speed and confidence and an odd weight that she wasn't used to on her head and lower back.

Nathalie gave herself a little shake, and _felt_ a new appendage at the top of her head twitch, swiveling around to catch the fading sound of another transformation. She glanced over, and felt her breath catch as the pale blue sparkles faded around Theo.

He always _had_ looked good transformed.

"Let's go." She said, automatically reaching for her hip and finding; instead of the yoyo she had been halfway expecting; a flute that seemed carved from wood, but felt heavier than it should have if that were the case. She turned it, and found on the underside some thin lines in a rectangle, which she pressed the middle of. The panel slid out of the way, revealing a screen similar to the one she remembered on Theo's staff when he had been Chat Noir. A ladybug and a cat's paw blinked on the map she brought up, a couple blocks over and close together. "Looks like two blocks west of here."

"Lead the way, lovebug," Theo said with a grin, giving a stretch and looking entirely pleased to be suited up again.

"I think we're going to need new names for each other, Tomcat." Nathalie said with a slight grin as she replaced the flute at her hip, striding to the sliding door leading to Master Fu's tiny garden.

"Now let's go give Hawk Moth a piece of our minds."

* * *

Ladybug hissed as she dragged herself to her feet, Chat's arm draped over her shoulder as he leaned heavily against her. She would never complain, though. He had been taking far harder hits than her, and as much as she hated seeing him in pain, and would be giving him an earful for it later, she was also grateful for him doing his best to protect her.

"If you have a plan, My Lady, now would be a _really_ good time to hear it," Chat panted softly by her ear.

"Well, plans A through E haven't exactly worked that great," Ladybug admitted with a wince as her leg twinged from where it had been pinned under a piece of rubble earlier. "And I haven't exactly come up with a Plan F yet."

Minotaureau was lightning fast, and strong enough to level a building with one of his charges. His hits to the ground were enough to cause earthquakes, and while he wasn't that bright, his sheer speed and power were, well…

Basically, they were getting their asses handed to them.

It wasn't as if the possessed object was hard to spot. He had an American cowboy hat resting against his upper back, held on by a string tied around his neck. Unfortunately, the one time she _had_ managed to get her hands on it and try to yank it off, the surprisingly strong string had gotten caught on his horns and yanked her to a halt. Before she had a chance to get away, she had already been grabbed, yanked off, and thrown into a building hard enough to be sent through a brick wall.

And while Minotaureau wasn't that bright, he had learned from his mistake of letting her get close enough to grab his hat again.

Ladybug grimaced as a mist started to swirl around her feet. "Please tell me this isn't another power of his."

Chat frowned, glancing around as more mist billowed in, making Minotaureau pause from where he was preparing to charge them again. "Doesn't look like it. What _is_ going on, though?"

"Plan F," A voice hummed from behind them, and Ladybug and Chat whirled around ( _ow ow that was a bad idea pain!)_ , only to find themselves confronted with an increasing wall of mist that engulfed them.

"What the-" Ladybug cut herself off, confused. While it certainly looked like mist, and sounds were more muffled, this stuff didn't have the cool chill or the clinging damp that real mist did.

Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her waist and dragged her in against a warm side, taller than her, and she registered Chat on the other side of a small expanse of orange and white before they were in the air. Ladybug barely had time to struggle before she was being set down again.

"Breathe. The mist and my partner will distract Minotaureau for now, take the chance to catch your breaths and recover while you can," The same voice from before said, and Ladybug looked up, only to tense.

' _Fox!'_

Memories of Volpina rushed back, and Ladybug jumped back with a growl, reaching automatically for her yoyo.

"Wait, stop! I'm the real thing!" The fox-garbed woman protested, dodging to the side to avoid Ladybug's yoyo, then having to jump and twist to avoid Chat bringing his staff down on her from behind. "The Guardian sent me!"

"And how do we know that you're not another Akuma?" Ladybug hissed, ignoring the twinge in her leg again as she crouched in a battle stance.

"Because Hawk Moth already _has_ an Akuma out, and if he were strong enough to make two at once, then he would have done so at the start of this battle." The woman grumbled, tapping the end of her flute against her leg in annoyance. "I know you have brains in those heads, so use them!"

Ladybug paused, studying the older woman. Unlike Copycat, this woman's suit wasn't an exact copy of Volpina's. Yes, orange predominated, with white down her front and tipping the cloth tail waving in the air behind her. But her brown markings came in the form of knee length boots and elbow length gloves, tipped in sharp claws similar to Chat's, and her ears were shorter and broader than Volpina's had been, though still taller and thinner than Chat's. Perhaps oddest of all, her eyes were similar to Chat's, with the entirety save the pupil glowing an eerie ice blue. Her hair was predominately a dark auburn, but with a wide blaze of crimson streaking down the left side and extending all the way into her short, high ponytail.

"Why would the Guardian send another Holder to us now?" Chat pointed out, sidling along until he was standing next to Ladybug, ready to guard her flank.

"Because, quite frankly, you were getting your asses kicked. And he decided you could use some extra help in general. If we can see that you're being run ragged, so can Hawk Moth." Her ears twitched, and the woman grinned. "Speaking of, want to see Hawk Moth get _really_ pissed off?"

"Wait, what?" Ladybug stared as the woman walked to the edge of the roof that she had deposited them on, and waved them over.

"My partner is getting into position. And once Hawk Moth sees him, he's going to be _really_ ticked."

For some reason, she sounded oddly gleeful about that.

"… My Lady, did I take a hard hit to the head? Because this isn't making much sense," Chat groaned, rubbing at his head.

"If you got hit then so did I." Ladybug hesitated, then joined the older woman at the edge of the roof and looked down.

The mist still filled the street below, but she could see Minotaureau's head and shoulders as he looked around, snorting and stomping in anger to judge from the tremors reaching their feet. "He's getting ready to charge again."

"Hmm." The fox-woman hummed, lifting her flute to her lips and beginning to softly play. Nothing seemed to happen at first…

Well, up until something largely blue lunged out of the mist, smacked Minotaureau across the muzzle with something about two feet long and flat, then disappeared back into the mist.

The Akuma bellowed in rage, shaking his head and rubbing at his smarting face as he whirled around, trying to spot his hidden attacker.

Something blue darted in again, and Minotaureau snatched for it, only to roar in frustration as his hands passed right through the illusion, and in his brief moment of distraction, another strike lashed across his nose, making him stumble back with another bellow.

Clearly getting angry, Minotaureau stomped his feet further apart and crouched down, only to jerk back as the blue figure appeared before him and flashed a large, colorful fan, then whirled around and smacked the Akuma across the face with the figure's heavy tail. It didn't hurt the Akuma like the strikes with what Ladybug could now see had been the folded fan, but it did surprise him out of charging.

The blue figure skidded to a halt, taking a brief second to collect themselves, and Ladybug got a decent look at them.

Unlike the fox-woman beside her, she had never seen anyone similar to the clearly Peacock themed hero. Their main color was blue, and their suit looked to be padded and more armor-like than her and the fox-woman's, more like Chat's suit. Three copper stripes ran down the top and back of each arm, and a green patch on his lower back merged into a magnificent tail fan, currently draping down but swinging oddly. It took her just long enough for the Peacock hero to dart back into the mist to realize why. The cloth 'feathers', which were connected to each other, seemed to have something stiff and reinforcing inside. Although cloth wasn't quite right, since it was made of the same strong material as the rest of their suits, just apparently more flexible.

Suddenly the purple butterfly that signified Hawk Moth was talking to an Akuma flared in front of Minotaureau's face, brighter than Ladybug had ever seen it, and the Akuma jerked and covered his ears with a whine.

Briefly, Ladybug imagined she could hear a distant howl of fury.

"Whoops, time to move," The fox-woman said as Minotaureau raised his fists high, then brought them down on the street, sending a shock-wave of an earthquake rumbling out in a circle around him. The building they were on bucked and heaved underfoot, and Ladybug barely had time to snag the chimney of a building further away and grab Chat before the roof collapsed out from under them. She gritted her teeth and yanked while pushing off even as the roof dropped away, giving just enough of a jump that they didn't end up slamming into the next building over's wall.

Well, not very hard, anyways.

Chat dug the claws of one hand into the brick work, wrapping his free arm around her waist as she retracted her yoyo, and hauling them both up to the roof of their new temporary sanctuary. Ladybug was already searching the mist below, trying to spot Minotaureau, only to see that he was snatching at blue illusions. A soft trill of a flute came from above, and she glanced up as Chat hauled them over the edge of the roof to see the fox-woman already there and playing.

"Thanks for distracting him so I could get away, lovebug." Suddenly the Peacock landed a few feet away and offered a hand to each of them so they could stand. "Still getting the hang of these and the new fighting style."

The woman gave a snort that Ladybug assumed was agreement, and continued to play to keep the Akuma distracted.

"Do you two know where the akuma is located?" The Peacock asked.

"It's in his hat. The string is strong enough that you can't just break it off, and the horns make it so you can't yank it over his head." Ladybug said.

"Then we'll just have to cut it," Peacock said, flicking his fan open before leaping off the roof and back into the fray.

Fox's playing cut off with a squeal of out of tune notes as she yanked her flute down. "Stop jumping into things headfirst, you stupid Tomcat!" She snarled. " _You don't have claws anymore!"_

"… Okay, I need a headache pill after this," Ladybug finally admitted.

"You and me both, My Lady," Chat sighed.

"Look, I swear we'll explain later, but right now I have to keep my idiot partner from _getting himself killed,_ " Fox snarled.

Unfortunately, with her distraction and cessation of playing, the Peacock illusions and even the mist were fading away.

And Peacock wasn't as quiet as he was used to being as he attempted to sneak up behind Minotaureau.

Fox gasped as the Akuma whirled around, lightning fast, and was charging before Peacock could so much as open his fan.

Peacock had just enough time to swing his tail around and have it partway spread when the Akuma hit with a _CLANG_ loud enough to make their ears hurt.

The force of the hit sent Peacock flying back hard, enough that when hero met the building at the end of the street, the building gained a new feature in the form of a hole with two booted legs and a tail hanging limply out of it.

As the ringing faded away, all Ladybug could register was the fact that Peacock wasn't moving, and a low, vicious growl was coming from Fox.

"Oh, he's _dead_ for messing with my Tomcat."


	4. Chapter 4

"Ladybug, Chat, get Peacock and get him somewhere safe. I'll distract Minotaureau," Fox said as she leapt forward and off of the roof before the Akuma could even finish straightening up from his finished charge.

The bellow that followed as Ladybug and Chat made for the hole in the building, as well as the red lines already appearing at the end of Minotaureau's sensitive nose, made it clear that Fox wasn't playing around.

Ladybug really needed to get their actual names, she couldn't just keep calling them Fox and Peacock in her head. Though to be fair she wasn't one to talk.

Chat stumbled a bit as they landed by where Peacock still hadn't moved, and she quickly caught him to stop her partner from falling over, making him hiss where she grabbed his ribs. "Sorry, minou," She murmured. "Come on, let's get him to safety while Fox still has the Akuma distracted."

With Chat's help, she was able to get the older, bigger hero out of the hole he was dangling half out of, and draped over her back. Chat had tried to insist on being the one to carry him, but one poke to his ribs stopped that in its tracks. It wasn't as if she couldn't handle the weight, although with how much bigger Peacock was he draped over her back and shoulders awkwardly, and his tail was dragging on the ground.

A rumble shook the ground, and they looked over to see that Fox had somehow managed to get Minotaureau to wedge his head through another building's wall, although just as she went to grab the hat, he yanked his head back out and nearly caught the woman on one of his horns, making her scramble back and take to the roofs again, where she resumed taunting and distracting the Akuma. Hawk Moth's sign kept flaring in front of Minotaureau's face, but the Akuma seemed to be ignoring the villain in favor of the much more present and much more _annoying_ threat.

"Come on, I don't know how long she'll be able to keep this up," Chat said, picking up Peacock's dragging tail to at least help as they both leapt up to a rooftop, then over to a flatter one where they could actually lay the adult hero down without worrying about him sliding off. He was still unconscious, which worried Ladybug. Head injuries were nothing to mess with, and even if her Miraculous Ladybug was able to fix everything, she still didn't want to chance it.

Another rumble drew her attention, and Ladybug glanced over, only to see Minotaureau squaring up to charge at the building they were on.

Fox flashed across Minotaureau's face again, leaving another set of red lines across his sensitive nose to join the ones from earlier, then slid to a halt and reached up to grasp at the fox tail hanging on a chain around her neck. Even from this distance, Ladybug heard her when she spoke.

" _Nightmare._ "

The charm flashed and glowed, quickly transferring to Fox's fingers, and she lifted her flute to her lips and began to play. As she did, the magic crackling around her fingers flowed into the flute and tinted the smoke flowing out from the end, turning it dark and almost poisonous looking.

Minotaureau was clearly not the brightest Akuma they had ever faced, but even he could tell that he wanted nothing to do with what Fox was doing. He was backing away, but apparently not fast enough, as the vile looking smoke shot forward and engulfed him.

The Akuma froze, trembling and eyes going wide, then cried out in terror and whipped around to run the other way. Fox growled a "Oh no you don't-" and leapt, just barely managing to hook her flute under Minotaureau's chin and hang on as the Akuma barreled down the street. With both hands occupied, she did the only thing she could do, and leaned in to bite through the leather string holding the hat on with the small but sharp fangs that her transformation had granted her. The hat went flying off, and Fox dropped, racing back and snatching it up before taking to the rooftops. She stumbled as Minotaureau crashed into a building and began thrashing about in terror, making the ground buckle and heave.

Ladybug and Chat gripped Peacock's arms to keep him from sliding off as the roof of the building they were on jumped and shuddered, an alarming creak coming from beneath their feet. "Ladybug, go! I've got him!" Chat hissed, and she gave the tiniest of nods, all she had time for, before snatching up her yoyo and racing to meet Fox.

She met the older woman halfway, still in an upswing and just retracting her yoyo when Fox twisted mid-leap and tossed the hat towards her. Ladybug snatched it out of the air, and had barely landed and skidded to a halt to kill her momentum before she was ripping the hat in two. The ground heaved again and for a brief second she held her breath, always with that tiny fear in the back of her mind that she had been wrong, it was the wrong item…

And then the dark butterfly darted out, and she let out a breath of relief as she caught it and purified the akuma.

One Miraculous Ladybug later, and the part of the city that had begun resembling a war zone more than anything else was finally repaired, and she nearly staggered in relief that it was finally, _finally_ over. Exhaustion washed over her and she had to fight to stay standing as she took to the rooftops, joining Fox and running to meet Chat and Peacock, who she saw was sitting up and being helped to his feet by her partner. A small _beep_ drew her attention, and she glanced over to see that the end of the white part of the tail hanging around Fox's neck blinked a couple times before it was suddenly shorter.

 _'Huh, guess that's how her timer works.'_ That more than anything convinced Ladybug that Fox, at least, was the real deal.

"… Thanks. For the help," Ladybug said as they both landed on the roof where Chat and Peacock were.

"Ugh, I got knocked out so early." Peacock was grumbling, his tail shifting and the 'feathers' rattling together in agitation. She really was curious about what they were reinforced with. "I'm completely out of practice."

"We both are." Fox sighed, putting her flute away. "That fight took a lot longer than it should have."

"Wait. 'Out of practice'?" Chat questioned, looking between the two. "How long have you two been heroes?"

"Considering the time…" Fox leaned over to poke at Peacock's fan to check. "We've had these things about twenty minutes."

"Then… what… how…" Poor Chat had had a long day.

Peacock took pity on them. "We were the last ones to hold _your_ Miraculouses. Say 'hi' to Plagg for me, by the way." He shot at Chat.

"After the threat that we were picked to handle was dealt with, we gave the Miraculouses back to the Guardian," Fox continued. "But with things going the way they are, and Hawk Moth getting stronger, he felt that some experience might be best to send out to help you two." Some more _beeping_ and the white further decreased on her Miraculous. "Look, we can talk things out better once we're not on a time limit. We'll find you two on patrol tomorrow."

"Really quick, before you leave. What do you want us to call you?" Ladybug butted in, just as the two were about to jump away.

"Um…" The pair shared a Look, and Ladybug was reminded of when she had first met Chat, and he had been scrambling for a name to call himself.

"… I guess I'll be Vulpin." Fox, er, Vulpin said with a shrug. "It's as good a name as any."

"And I'll be Paon Bleue." Peaco- Paon added.

"… Really? You had to add the Bleue part?"

"I'm used to having a color as part of my name, okay?" Paon whined as Vulpin leapt away and he jumped after.

Ladybug and Chat Noir just stood there for a long moment, trying to process everything.

"My Lady?"

"Yes, Chat?"

"… I think I really need that headache pill."

"You and me both, minou."

"They argue like an old married couple," Chat added, his surprise fading enough to start snickering.

"Oh gods, that's us in twenty years." Ladybug covered her mouth, but wasn't able to stifle her giggles.

"Are you saying we'll be an old married couple by then, My Lady?" Chat wiggled his eyebrows, and she laughed harder as she lightly shoved his shoulder.

"No, but we'll still be best friends." Chat's flirtatious grin softened into a true, warm smile, and he lightly shoved her shoulder back.

"Though that does explain why she kept calling him 'Tomcat'," Ladybug added, and both had to lean against each other as laughter and fading adrenaline made it hard to stand.

It took a while for the two of them to regain their composure and separate, and once they finally made it back to school, both Marinette and Adrien had to sit through Alya's excited gushing over the blurry shots she had gotten of the new heroes.

* * *

Vulpin and Paon Bleue managed to get within a few blocks of Theo's apartment, which was the closer one, before Vulpin's necklace gave several final, frantic beeps, and they had to duck down into a secluded alleyway to transform back just as the final bit of white at the tip of the tail disappeared.

Reflexively, Nathalie held her hands out and caught Trixx as she fell, carefully cradling the tired Kwami to her chest and rubbing her ears with the tip of her thumb. "Thank you for holding that as long as you did."

Beside her, Nathalie felt more than saw Theo release his own transformation. Because he hadn't used his special ability, whatever it was, Duusu flitted to sit on her Chosen's shoulder for a moment before she had to go into hiding.

Nathalie didn't even realize that she was leaning back against the wall, legs a little wobbly as the adrenaline crash started to hit, and a deep-down sensation in her muscles that told her she would be sore in the morning.

"We are so out of shape." She sighed. Even if Miraculous Ladybug repaired injuries incurred during Akuma attacks, it didn't help the fact that, even with the boosted strength and speed and stamina, you were using muscles that didn't often get a lot of use.

"Look, you're more tired than me. You head to my apartment and let yourself in, you know where the key is. I'll swing by the store to get something for Duusu and Trixx to eat," Theo offered, and Nathalie shot him a tired, but grateful smile.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you there." Pushing herself up, and grimacing as she tried not to imagine what kinds of grime were now inhabiting the back of her shirt, Nathalie stuffed the now plain gray necklace under her shirt, then unbuttoned her purse and helped Trixx settle herself inside before heading out.

It took longer than it should have to walk the few short blocks to Theo's apartment, soreness already beginning to set in as she punched in the code to the small lockbox beside his door and removed the spare key, using it to unlock the door and open it before putting the key back inside the lockbox and shutting it.

Once the door was safely shut behind her, Nathalie opened her purse and let Trixx out, setting her purse down on the coffee table and resisting the urge to flop out on Theo's couch and sleep until the end of time, no matter how tempting that battered, insanely comfortable old couch looked.

And smelled, now. It was faint, but she was able to tell that the couch, in fact the entire apartment, smelled like Theo. Like warmth and safety and-

She cut the thought off, shaking her head. It looked as if just a single transformation was enough to start setting off the Fox side effects, and apparently one of those was going to be an enhanced sense of smell.

Well, at least she would now know what Theo was talking about when he complained about overly strong smells.

As she shifted, pondering what to do while they waited for Theo to finish his errand, her muscles reminded her again that she had been doing quite a bit of running around and jumping, far more than she had done since her time as Ladybug, and she was definitely older and less resilient.

Deciding that she didn't want to deal with the worst of the soreness tomorrow if she didn't have to, Nathalie headed for Theo's bathroom. He wouldn't mind her using his tub to soak away the worst of the soreness.

Once inside, Nathalie groaned and picked up the towel that Theo had dropped on the floor after what she guessed to be his morning shower, grumbling about how he _still_ hadn't learned to hang up his towels as she did so, then started the water running into the small tub, waiting for it to warm up before putting the stopper in.

Nathalie undressed, grimacing at the grime that was, indeed, staining the back of her shirt, then took her clothing to Theo's tiny washer-dryer set and tossed it in. She still had one or two outfits left in Theo's closet from when they had been dating, so she grabbed the more comfortable set and brought it into the bathroom with her.

By this point, the tub was about two thirds full, so she turned the water off, made sure her hair was pulled up properly, then sank into the blissful heat. It stung a little at first, but she waited out the discomfort as her skin adjusted, then leaned back with a soft sigh. She knew she would still be hurting in the morning, but hopefully this would take the edge off. While Gabriel wasn't the most observant, she would rather not be moving stiffly the day after two new heroes showed up to an Akuma fight.

She had her eyes shut, and felt more than saw a tiny weight settle on top of her head, burrowing a little into her hair as Trixx returned from her leisurely exploration of the apartment. "Why do you and your mate live apart?" Came the sly voice from the little fox, and Nathalie felt Trixx's fluffy tail dangling off of the side of her head so that the very tip just barely brushed one of her ears.

"Theo and I aren't mates." She sighed. "And our relationship is a little complicated."

"All the best ones to watch are." Trixx snickered a little. "And yet you trust each other completely."

"Trust doesn't always mean a relationship works out. We both have our issues," Nathalie admitted. "Neither of us is great at always thinking things through." Theo's akumatization came to mind, but Nathalie could admit, even if it was only to herself, that she was guilty of such things as well.

The fact that things hadn't gone completely pear shaped as a result of her stealing Duusu's Miraculous didn't change the fact that she had done it impulsively.

"Which is why it's a good thing if you have each other's backs if things go wrong," Trixx said, her tail giving a little flick.

There was something in the Kwami's voice that caught Nathalie's attention. Probably not the best idea to try to turn the tables on something thousands of years old, but she _really_ didn't want to have this conversation right now. "Is that how you and Duusu got together?"

A small chuckle came from on top of her head. "So you noticed."

"Your meeting reminded me of the first time I saw Tikki and Plagg meet after having been apart," Nathalie admitted.

The tiny fox gave a soft hum. "Our relationship is a little different from Tikki and Plagg's, we aren't perfect and balanced counters like they are, but yes. I count Duusu as my mate." Trixx gave a little wiggle. "It'll be nice having Chosens who know each other and spend time together, it means I'll get to see a lot of her. For a little while, at least."

Nathalie winced a bit. Tikki had told her once that, despite being partners, she didn't get to see Plagg very much because of the insistence on secret identities to keep their Chosens safe.

"I normally don't spend much time around Theo lately… but with the situation, I suppose that will have to change." Really, Nathalie hadn't been planning to increase her time spent with Theo outside of their suits all that much, but it was only fair to Trixx and Duusu.

Unseen to her, Trixx was smirking gleefully on top of her head. Not only did she get to see more of Duusu, but now she had far more chances to get these two silly kits to see sense.

The conversation died after that as Nathalie and Trixx both relaxed and drowsed, though it wasn't long before the front door opening and shutting roused them both.

Trixx yawned and stretched before floating lazily off of her head and out of the bathroom, landing on Theo's shoulder just as he was setting the pair of shopping bags down. "What did you get me?"

Theo jumped slightly, then laughed and dug around in one of the bags, pulling out a bag of pecan halves that he had found in the baking aisle. "Here. Try not to eat it all at once, these things have to be imported and they're expensive. Not camembert expensive, but expensive," He said as he fished out a bowl from one of his cabinets and opened the bag, pouring some of the nuts into it. Trixx gave a gleeful squeal and launched herself into the middle of the pecans, snagging one and biting half of it off with a happy hum. A soft giggle came from the counter, and Theo glanced over at where Duusu was already working on the blueberry muffin he had gotten for her.

"You know, I would have opened it for you."

"I was hungry, and now you don't have to." The little peacock said as she took another huge bite.

"Nathalie's soaking in a bath," Trixx said, mouth full as she dove for another bite. "You should soak, too. You're both going to be sore tomorrow."

"I'll go check on her," Theo said as he finished putting the last of the things he had picked up away. Since he had been at the store anyways, he had taken the chance to pick up a few things he was running low on.

As Theo left the room, Trixx and Duusu's eyes met from their respective meals, and both Kwami grinned at the same time.

"Trixx, you're being naughty and matchmaking again, aren't you?" Duusu asked, taking another bite of her muffin.

"Bluebird, when am I _not_ being naughty?" Trixx laughed as she tossed another pecan into the air and caught it in her mouth, munching happily.

"When you're asleep, and honestly I'm not sure about even then."

"Nope, still plotting in my sleep." Trixx snickered, showing off her tiny fangs in her glee as she practically inhaled the rest of her pecans before darting over to hover by where Duusu was taking her time with her muffin. "Come ooooon, hurry up, I want cuddles! It's been decades!"

"You're always so impatient, Trixx." Duusu grinned as she chewed even slower, just to watch her mate squirm.

As chaotic as Trixx could be, Duusu had long trained her to not interrupt her mealtimes.

A lot of people tried to claim that Tikki was the scariest of the Kwami when angry. Those same people had never met an angry Duusu.

Trixx whined and inscribed impatient circles in the air around Duusu as the peacock took her time finishing her muffin, then took a moment or two to put her tail in order before finally taking pity on her mate and floating up. The fox squealed and tackled her mate, clinging tightly to Duusu and rubbing their cheeks together. Duusu laughed and hugged her back.

"Come on, that couch looks nice and comfy," Duusu said, dragging Trixx in that direction so they could get down to catching up with each other.

* * *

Theo knocked on the open door with two knuckles before stepping into the bathroom. Nathalie was soaking in the tub, like Trixx had said, and the water was still hot enough to be steaming slightly. For her part, Nathalie looked half asleep from a combination of the heat and the adrenaline crash.

… That water looked _really_ inviting.

And of course, someone needed to make sure that Nathalie didn't fall completely asleep and drown.

Nathalie yelped in surprise as a weight suddenly plopped itself in her lap, splashing water and waking her up from her doze. Theo gave a cheerful, innocent grin as Nathalie glared at him, completely used to the glares that could practically strip paint when she was particularly vexed.

Considering they tended to be aimed at him a lot, he had developed somewhat of an immunity.

"Theo, get _out_. There isn't enough room for both of us in the tub!" Nathalie growled, indicating how the water level had already risen to be within a few centimeters of the edge of the tub, and that was with Theo's legs still dangling off the edge as he sat sideways in her lap. She didn't bother trying to cover herself up, it wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other sans clothing before. "You're going to get water all over your bathroom."

Theo pouted, but leaned over and pulled the plug to the tub, letting out a couple centimeters or so of water before replacing it. "There, now we can both fit without getting water everywhere." Positively gleeful, Theo turned and leaned back against Nathalie. "Besides, I need to soak, too, and I don't want to run up my water bill."

Nathalie rolled her eyes, even as her arms settled automatically around Theo's waist for lack of a better place to put them. "You're lucky I'm taller than you or this would be really uncomfortable."

"You just have to keep bringing that up," Theo grumbled, looking rather put out.

"How's that final growth spurt you keep swearing you'll get working out?"

"It could still happen!" Theo retorted, looking every inch a grumpy kitty at the teasing.

"You're 25, Theo. I think it's safe to say that you're done growing." Nathalie allowed herself a tiny smirk, then sighed as it fell.

"We were horrible out there today."

"… Yeah. We were." Theo sighed as he agreed, resting a hand over her folded ones on his stomach. "And we only get a partial pass because we're still learning what we can do as the peacock and fox."

"We need to practice and get back up to speed. And back in shape." While Nathalie didn't really think of herself as being out of shape, it became something entirely different when one factored superhero activities into things.

"… We need to work on getting Ladybug and Chat Noir better trained as well," Theo added. "Chat alone needs some serious weapons training on using the staff, he's swinging it around like it's a sword most of the time."

"Well, he's trained as a fencer. But I get your point." Nathalie frowned. "I'll see if I can figure out a way to work in staff lessons without raising either Adrien's or Gabriel's suspicions. Until then, you should probably show him the basics."

"Do you think they know who each other is?"

"I'd bet money that they don't. Tikki at least will be insistent that they keep their identities secret." Nathalie sighed, leaning her chin on Theo's shoulder.

Theo was quiet for a moment, mulling things over, before finally speaking. "Should we tell them who we are?"

"No. Not right now, at least. I'm too close to both Adrien and Gabriel, we can't have Adrien treating me differently because of me being Vulpin," Nathalie pointed out. "I'm going to need every advantage I can get to pull this off."

"If anyone can, it's you." Theo gave a slight smile. "Clever bug."

"… Are you going to make a bunch of new nicknames for me?"

"As if you won't be doing the same in return." Both chuckled softly, then relaxed into each other.

"… We'll figure it out. We always do, Bug," Theo said finally. "We're unstoppable together."

"Ugh, that was so cheesy when I said that, and it's even cheesier now," Nathalie complained.

"Still true." Theo chuckled, then gave a slight shiver.

"Come on, the water's getting cold. We should get out."

"Nooooo, more cuddles." Nathalie snorted as Theo whined.

"Oh get up, you big baby. I'll help you cook dinner."

That did it. Nathalie rolled her eyes as water sloshed out of the tub in Theo's hurry to get out, and he nearly slipped and fell on her in the process. Sighing, she leaned down to pull the plug on the drain, then more carefully stood and accepted a towel from her partner.

Together they cleaned up the water on the floor in the bathroom, then dried off and dressed. Nathalie switched her clothes from the washer to the dryer, then went to figure out what Theo actually had to work with as far as food went.

"… Do you have _anything_ besides frozen meals?" Nathalie sighed as she moved on from the full freezer, eyeing the contents of the refrigerator. Half a carton of milk, a carton of eggs that looked fresh, a bag of a translucent mess that proclaimed it had once been a salad mix, some assorted condiments, and some takeout containers that were beginning to try to achieve sentience.

"… Theo. I say this because I care about you. Clean out your fridge before it becomes a bigger threat than any akuma Hawk Moth could throw at us."

"Yes, _mom,_ " Theo grumbled, but moved to do as she said as Nathalie tried the cupboards. She had marginally more luck there, as the canned goods were at least within their use-by date. She snorted in amusement at the packets of tuna. Theo had always claimed he _hated_ fish before he got the Black Cat Miraculous, now he felt out of sorts if he didn't have some sort of seafood at least twice a week.

Another check in the fridge to check the condiments to make sure that he had everything, and Nathalie got a couple eggs and started them boiling. At least he had remembered to pick up eggs and bread while getting food for the Kwamis.

Speaking of which, she glanced around for the two tiny gods as she began working on doing the small amount of dishes that were left in the sink, only to spot Trixx and Duusu curled up together on one of the couch cushions. Both fox and peacock were out like a light, tiny snores coming from Trixx while Duusu slept quietly, their heads tucked close together and tails wrapped around each other.

Satisfied that the two were content and staying out of trouble, Nathalie finished up the dishes, then went to help Theo with cleaning out his fridge.

By the time their tuna salad sandwiches had been made and eaten, it was starting to get late. Her clothes were dry by then, so Nathalie was able to change back, then picked up her purse and the remaining pecans, putting some money down to cover what Theo paid for them.

"You're leaving," Theo sighed, his words a statement rather than a question.

"Sorry Theo, but I need to get home. I may have been able to take part of the day off today, but I have to go back to work tomorrow." Nathalie carefully didn't look at him. She knew that he wouldn't be able to help the hurt look in his eyes that he got every time she left, but that didn't make it hurt her any less.

"… Yeah. Right. I'll see you tomorrow on patrol?"

"Sure, Tomcat." Nathalie opened her purse before gently picking Trixx up, waking up both Kwami and trying to ignore how both fox and peacock whimpered and shot each other sad looks even as she settled Trixx carefully into her purse.

Theo and Duusu walked them to the door, and Duusu shot down to give Trixx a last hug before Nathalie stepped out and shut the door behind her. Theo sighed and leaned against the door, lifting a hand up to his shoulder as his kwami landed there for Duusu to cuddle into.

"You don't want her to go," Duusu stated, voice soft and feathered tail drooping slightly.

"Of course I don't want her to go. I've wanted to stay by her side since I was 14." Theo sighed, straightened up, and headed to the tiny balcony that was set off from his living room. It only had enough room for one small table and a chair, which he sat in and dug in a pocket before pulling out a packet of cigarettes. "But she always leaves." He closed his eyes, rubbing at his forehead with his free hand. "I know I mess up a lot, and that's why she can't stay, but that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"You love her." Duusu sighed as she floated up to settle in Theo's hair, messing it up by making herself a small nest.

"Like I said. I've wanted to stay with her and never leave since I was 14." Theo tapped out a cigarette and the lighter he had stored in the pack as well, lifting it to his lips before lighting it and taking a long puff in.

"There are some who would try to make her stay," Duusu commented, in that tone that Plagg had always used when he was testing his Chosen.

Theo snorted out some smoke. "Even if she wouldn't kick my ass, I'd never _make_ her do anything. It's not worth it if she doesn't want to stay as much as I want her to." He sighed out a cloud of smoke, removing the cigarette and letting it dangle loosely between two fingers as he tilted his head back, watching some dark gray clouds move in. "Even if I want her to stay, to be with her forever and spend our lives together, it would hurt me even more to hurt her."

He felt Duusu shift gently in his hair, and realized that the tiny kwami was petting him. "You're a good person, Theo. And sometimes relationships take time to work out." He felt her weight leave him, and then the packet of cigarettes was missing from where he had set it on the table.

"Hey!"

"I'm allowing you one tonight, but if you're going to be fighting akuma, we can't have you stopping to cough every five minutes." Duusu gave Theo a firm look, and he was reminded of when his mother had first caught him smoking.

"Plagg never cared."

"Plagg also counts cheese as his second love, he's not exactly the best role model in the world. You're going to be cutting down, Theo."

Theo groaned. Of course his kwami had to be a second Nathalie in regards to his smoking. "Fine. I'll try to cut down."

"There's not going to be any _trying_ about it." The tiny glare that Duusu shot him made a shiver run down his spine, before she shot inside to go put the packet of cigarettes away.

Theo sighed, then settled back to enjoy his lone cigarette for the night. After the day he had, he needed it.

Duusu was soon back, and settled back into his hair with a comforting, tiny pat. "Don't worry Theo. Things will work out eventually." At least if she knew Trixx, they would.

"… I hope so, Duusu. I really do."


	5. Chapter 5

Nathalie sighed as she shut the door to her apartment behind her, exhaustion setting into her bones.

In her defense, it had been a very long day.

Groaning softly, low in her throat, she rubbed briefly at her face before dropping her keys into the small bowl kept on a little table by the door, then flicked open her purse to let Trixx out. Granted, the tiny fox could have phased right through, but Tikki had told her once that it was impolite to do so without good reason.

Privately, Nathalie suspected that it took more energy than the kwami were willing to admit, so they didn't do it unless they felt a real need for it.

As soon as her purse was open, Trixx darted out in a streak of orange and was off exploring, poking her tiny little nose into every corner of the apartment. The tiny fox gave an excited squeal, and the following rustle of leaves made Nathalie twitch.

"Don't hurt any of my plants, Trixx."

"Oh, please. I'm not going to hurt any of them. Besides, you have enough that your Ladybug is showing!"

A newfound love of plants and growing things had been one of the side-effects that had come about as a result of being Ladybug. Even now, nearly every horizontal surface in her apartment had _some_ sort of plant on it, including the corner of the room closest to the patio doors having a red-edged _Dracaena_ that nearly reached the ceiling and needed to be trimmed back again. Several more plants rested in pots hanging from the ceiling, though these were various species of ivy and a couple of spider plants.

For all the fact that she felt better when surrounded by plants, Nathalie also didn't have much of a green thumb and tried to pick things that were hard to kill.

Nathalie could feel a thought niggling at the back of her mind, something she should probably tell Trixx, but for some reason she couldn't quite catch hold of it.

Oh well. It probably wasn't important.

She was halfway to her bedroom, her mind thinking blissfully of her wonderfully soft and comfortable bed, when the thought actually managed to break loose and catch hold.

Nathalie froze, then gave a soft curse under her breath and whipped around to head back down the hallway to the living room. "Trixx, watch out, I have a cat!"

"Hmm?" Trixx looked up from where she was investigating Nathalie's small DVD collection, then yelped and darted straight up in the air as eight kilograms of feline landed just where she had been.

"Lucky! Bad cat!" Nathalie scolded as Trixx shot over to land on top of her head, examining her new housemate from her safe vantage point.

For his part, the cat looked entirely unconcerned as he sat down and began to wash his face.

"Ugly thing, isn't he?" Trixx commented, wrinkling her nose slightly. The tomcat was huge, with medium length, fluffy fur, marbled tabby brown with white tuxedo markings, and enough scars on his face, ears, and front legs that he looked like he had picked a fight with a blender.

"He's a retired alley tom that kind of hung around and decided to move in one day. He and Theo hiss at each other any time Theo comes over," Nathalie said, sighing as she went to the kitchen and filled up the cat bowl with kibble, to make sure he at least wouldn't be stalking Trixx out of hunger. Not that she thought he could actually hurt the wily little fox, but the less reason he had, the better.

"What is it with you and tomcats?" Trixx snickered, lifting off of Nathalie's head to float along with her as her new Chosen headed towards the bedroom.

"Oh shut up. It's too late for this and it's been a long day." The human of the two stifled a yawn as she sat down on the edge of her bed and bent over to begin removing her shoes.

Trixx drifted up, floating over to the windowsill where more plants were crowded to make the most of the light, though these ones had bows around the pots. Unlike the plants in the living area, these ones seemed to all be flowering plants, including an orchid, a small rose bush carefully trimmed back, and a potted mix of different flowers. "These are different from the others."

"My Kitten gave me those," Nathalie said over her shoulder as she worked on brushing out her hair.

"Theo?"

"No. The current Chat Noir. I know him outside the suit, although I don't think he recognized me today."

"Okay, I'm definitely going to need the story behind all of this." Trixx shot over to where Nathalie was finishing changing for bed, hovering over the end.

Nathalie sighed, but figured that this had been coming. "I'm the personal assistant to Gabriel Agreste, who is a famous fashion designer. I also coordinate things for his son, Adrien."

"And this Adrien is the current Chat Noir?"

"Yes. I recognized Plagg's ring as soon as I saw him wearing it." Nathalie gave a tight smile. "At least it allowed me to add Plagg's favorite cheese to the household grocery list and budget without my boss being any the wiser. Adrien is a good kid, but he doesn't always ask questions when he probably should. Like why we were stocking camembert when we hadn't been before."

"Probably doesn't want to question it in case the supply dries up," Trixx pointed out, and Nathalie chuckled.

"If you ever meet Adrien, you'll see just how oblivious he can be."

"He certainly likes to get you flowers," Trixx snickered, flitting down to drag one of the pillows on the bed out away from the others.

"I mentioned I liked plants once, so he tends to get me them as gifts."

"You're not telling me everything," Trixx said as she fluffed up the pillow, then dived right into the middle, giving a pleased sigh as she curled up.

"Because my situation is rather delicate. Let's just say that I'm going to need some help being as clever as a fox by the time we're through." Nathalie shot Trixx a tight smile.

"Don't try to dodge the subject with a being as old as I am," Trixx scolded lightly, but from the set of her ears was clearly amused.

"You'd think a being as old as you would have learned some patience in that time," Nathalie retorted, only to earn a laugh from Trixx.

"Patience is just another word for having to wait, most of the time."

"I think Theo would agree with you."

"So, why do you need my cleverness? Because otherwise I would say that you would have better suited Duusu as a Chosen."

"Because I know who Hawkmoth is."

Trixx sat up, her expression suddenly very serious. "You're sure?"

"Positive. And he's my boss."

Trixx blinked, then snorted and gave a crooked grin with a little too much fang in it to be completely humorous. "I've heard of bad bosses, but this is a little ridiculous."

"Having a supervillain as a boss kind of beats any other argument," Nathalie agreed with a slight, fierce grin of her own.

Trixx tensed as Nathalie's cat suddenly leapt onto the bed, the two staring at each other before Lucky gave a disdainful sniff and stalked past to curl up on one of the pillows beside Nathalie's head, not even looking at the kwami.

"He's also Adrien's father. And even out of costume, he has a lot of clout and power." Nathalie took a deep breath. "He's also the one I stole Duusu's Miraculous from. Which he is _not_ going to be pleased about."

"So we're going to have to tread carefully." Trixx gave a slight nod.

"Both to keep ourselves safe, and to keep him off of Adrien and Plagg's scent. As it is, I can cover for Adrien when he misses things due to akuma attacks. Sadly, I haven't been as successful as I would like in getting the boy more freedom to be a normal teen."

Trixx gave her Chosen a sharp look, going quiet for a long moment. "… He's your kit, isn't he?"

"… By blood? No. And don't get me started on what I would like to do to his mother, which is a whole other story. But… I consider him my kitten, even if I can't show it during work because I have to be professional." That, and if she were to be fired, her replacement wouldn't try to look out for Adrien like she tried to.

"You were right. It is a delicate situation." Trixx smirked slightly. "Though if you'll be around Plagg's Chosen a lot, perhaps I could catch up with Plagg. He always was up for a few good pranks, and I think we have the _perfect_ target."

"So long as you don't make messes for the maids to clean up. No need to get them involved or make things harder for them."

"Don't worry, we won't." Trixx gave a mischievous grin, followed up by a large yawn that took up over half her face. "I'm wiped. It's been a couple decades since I was last active, and it's been a long day."

Nathalie nodded, prompted into her own yawn by Trixx. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be even longer."

Trixx snuggled down further on her pillow, flicking her tail up so that it covered her face and giving a slightly muffled "Night, Nathalie."

"Goodnight, Trixx."

* * *

"What are we doing today?" Duusu asked, halfway through her morning muffin. Theo swallowed his mouthful of coffee and set his mug down before answering.

"Job hunting. I tend to temp a lot, and my last job ended a few days ago, so I've been looking for a new one." Playfully, he reached out to steal a small piece of his kwami's muffin, only to jerk his hand back in shock when she _hissed_ and flared her tail at him. Okay, do not fuck with Duusu's muffins, got it.

Duusu took the time to settle down and preen her tail flat again before speaking. "Any luck so far?"

"No, the past few days I've been putting in applications online. It's supposed to be nice out today, so I was going to walk around and put in applications at the smaller mom and pop places that usually don't let you apply online."

"What about the art supplies?" Duusu floated up and inscribed a small flip in the air before gesturing at where Theo's paints, brushes, canvases, and other things were… well, not neatly stored, but at least they were mostly out of the way.

He gave a wry grin. "I'm not well known enough to make a living making art full time. Sure, I sell my stuff now and then, and I got paid pretty well to design and create a statue several months back, but it's not enough to live off of. I use it to supplement what I get from working temp jobs." He grimaced. "It's going to be even harder to keep a job now, having to respond to akuma attacks."

"Why don't you have steady job already?"

Theo sighed and lightly tapped at the side of his head. "Memory problems. Makes it hard to hold down a job… or a relationship, for that matter."

Duusu's eyes softened, and she floated over to rub her tiny cheek against his stubbled one. "I'm sorry."

"For what? It's not your fault, little bird. Now finish up, I want to get an early start."

The kwami gave him an unreadable look before going back to her muffin.

* * *

Nathalie sighed as she typed, aching deep down and wanting nothing more than to smack her boss with a rolled-up newspaper.

Or a fist. A fist would work.

Gabriel, predictably, was furious, although she derived some tiny amount of satisfaction from the fact that he couldn't stay _what_ he was so angry about. Instead he was stalking around like a child throwing a tantrum, snarling at anyone who so much as breathed funny around him. Thankfully she had gotten Adrien out the door with the Gorilla before Gabriel got anywhere near that wing of the mansion.

The fact that small things seemed to be conspiring to piss Gabriel off even more obviously had nothing to do with her. Or the fact that her purse had been suspiciously empty since five minutes after she had gotten into work.

It was little things, like his pen disappearing after he put it down, only to be found under his desk, or his laces becoming undone and somehow tangling themselves, or the power strip that his work computer was plugged into somehow being turned off after he hadn't saved for a full hour and had lost the new line he had been drawing.

Nathalie made a note to never tell Theo about the last one, his artist's soul would probably cry in horror.

Also, she hadn't known that Gabriel screamed like a little girl.

A small rustling came from her bag, and she glanced down to see Trixx making herself comfortable, grinning wide enough to show her fangs as she dug for one of the small baggies that Nathalie had filled with pecans that morning. After making sure that none of the staff were around, she spoke softly while still staring at her monitor. "Have fun?"

"Loads," Trixx whispered back. "I added hair dye to his shampoo."

Nathalie's typing paused briefly before she forced herself to continue. "Where in the world did you get hair dye?"

"It was under one of the sinks in one of the bathrooms, looked like it hadn't been messed with in a while. Hope he likes the color pink."

"You're vicious."

"And he tried to keep my mate locked away. This is just the start of what's in store for him." Trixx took a large bite out of a nut and chewed, still smirking.

"… I am not going to ask, because this way I can plausibly deny that I know anything," Nathalie said carefully.

"Smart kit. You're learning." Trixx finished off the bag, then curled back up in Nathalie's purse. "I'm going to nap. Let me know when he finds the snake."

"What sna-"

Aaaaand more little-girl screams.

"That one."

Nathalie sighed as she got up, and went to rescue her boss and the resident supervillain from a tiny little garden snake.

* * *

"Theo! Try that one!" Duusu hissed softly from where she was tucked inside his jacket. He blinked and glanced down at the colorful little kwami, then looked over at where she was pointing. A 'Help Wanted' sign was resting in the window of a little mom-and-pop bakery.

"They're probably looking for bakers, Duusu, and I don't know how," Theo replied.

"Or they could be looking for someone to work the register and clean up. You'll never know unless you ask," Duusu shot back, nudging his chest. "Go on!"

"Alright, alright. You're a lot bossier than Plagg ever was," Theo huffed.

"Darn straight I am," Duusu replied smugly, ducking back into her hiding spot as Theo opened the door to the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie.

* * *

After they had finished dinner, Nathalie glanced out the sliding glass doors to her balcony. Deciding that it was late enough, even though the sun hadn't finished setting, she pocketed a couple baggies filled with pecans and called for her transformation. Climbing out and onto her balcony, she eyed the jump up to the roof, and then across to the closest building. Neither were ones she wanted to make until she knew her capabilities, and yet again she missed the yoyo that had helped her travel when she had been Ladybug.

Curiously, she eyed the brickwork of her apartment building, then her claws. From what she remembered of the times she had examined Theo's claws, hers seemed thicker and stronger, though the tips still came to a razor-sharp point.

A little bit of experimentation had her digging her claws into the mortar between the bricks, hauling herself up with an ease she hadn't felt in nearly a decade. Less than a minute later, she pulled herself over the edge of the roof, then stood and stretched.

That felt better than she had thought it would. Pulling out her flute, she opened the screen port and checked the area map to see if any of the others were active. A lone spotted ladybug blinked, several streets away, and she gave a small nod to herself as she put her weapon away and headed in that direction, taking her time and learning her new limits. She was faster and could jump further than she could when she was Ladybug, which helped to clear the longer jumps between some roofs.

A soft _zing!_ had her ears twitching, and before she had even fully registered the sound, she was leaping up and perching carefully on top of a chimney, giving a baleful look down at Ladybug as she reeled in her yoyo. "Was that truly necessary?"

"No offense if I don't exactly trust you yet." Ladybug grinned, although there was a sharp edge to it, and Vulpin belatedly remembered the fox akuma that had shown up a few months back.

"I can't say I blame you much. If you really need reassurance, then check with the Guardian in your off time," Vulpin huffed, her tail giving an annoyed flick.

"Oh, I already did. Honestly, that was for scaring the crap out of Chat several months ago with that letter of yours. I assume you're the one that left it?"

"I did." Vulpin felt a brief flash of guilt that she quickly buried. "And it wasn't my intention to scare the little kitten."

"You know who he is." It was a statement, not a question.

"I do. And Paon Bleue's identity as well, and he knows who I am, but not who Chat is." She gave a slight smile. "I'm assuming Tikki has stressed the need for secret identities."

"Repeatedly." Ladybug relaxed slightly, holstering her yoyo and jumping up to the roof peak near the chimney Vulpin was on.

"I thought so. I doubted she had changed much." Vulpin gave a strained smile. "Say hello to her for me, will you? I sometimes miss that little mother hen."

Ladybug covered her mouth to muffle a giggle. "Oh- mother hen. That's perfect, that describes her perfectly."

Vulpin gave a tight smile before lightly jumping down to join Ladybug, pointedly ignoring how the younger hero tensed up. "I have to talk to everyone, but it's best to wait for the boys to get out here. I don't want to repeat myself, and it's important."

Ladybug nodded, still staring intently at Vulpin, until the older woman shifted slightly in discomfort. "What?"

It took another long moment before Ladybug spoke. "… You know Chat, outside the suit. Is…" She shuffled a bit, fiddling with her fingers. "… Is he okay? His situation, I mean."

Vulpin took a deep breath, then let it out as she thought about her answer. "He's… not in any immediate danger. Right now. His family isn't a nice one, and he's… sad. A lot. And lonely, even though he tries to hide it." She closed her eyes and continued. "I've never seen him so happy as when he's Chat Noir."

Theo's face flashed through her mind, and she opened her eyes to fix a sharp stare on her successor. "Ladybug. I want you to promise me something."

"Wha-"

"Promise me, after all this is over and it's safe, before you give those Miraculouses back to the Guardian… spend time with Chat. Outside the suits. Make memories with him. Don't make the same mistake that I did. Because the Kwami magic will try to steal these memories away, and there are days that Paon would look at me, after, and just for a moment, not know who I was. Promise me that you won't make my mistake."

Ladybug's eyes went wide, and her face paled, freckles standing out sharply just under the line of her mask. "Chat would… he would never…"

"He wouldn't have much of a choice. After Miraculouses go dormant, memories of the heroes go dormant in people as well. My tomcat and I were active ten years ago, but no one remembers us. We're partially immune, because we're Holders, but it isn't definite. Promise me, Ladybug. Don't let him forget you, and don't let yourself forget him." Vulpin could feel her voice getting strained, but she had to make the younger hero _understand_.

Ladybug took a deep breath, then nodded. "I promise."

Vulpin relaxed, tension she hadn't even been aware she was carrying flowing out. "Thank you." A small beep from her flute prompted her to unholster it and check the screen. "Paon is out and about. Chat shouldn't be too far behind." It was a close thing, but she managed to keep from jumping in surprise as Ladybug's head suddenly popped over her shoulder.

"You can get alerts when the others transform on these?"

"Yes. Bring up your screen and I'll show you how to set it." Vulpin felt one side of her mouth twitch in a slight smile. "If I know Tikki, she'll have given you the run-down on the very basics and given you the Identity Talk, then left you to figure out the rest as you go."

"Ugh, yes. She's so bad about that, I just want a straight answer sometimes but nooo, she has to be all cryptic and tell me to figure it out on my own," Ladybug griped as Vulpin guided her through the alerts she could set.

"You can block other Miraculous users from seeing your location as well," Vulpin pointed out, showing her the screen on her flute, where the box next to the butterfly was already marked with a red 'X'. "Useful for keeping Hawkmoth from tracking our movements, I know he already has all of us blocked so that we can't find him while he's transformed." Well, if he had any sense he would have.

She liked to think that Ladybug and Chat Noir would be bright enough to have thought to check, at any rate.

Another beep announced that Chat Noir was now active, and Ladybug took a moment to send a text to both heroes to meet up with her and Vulpin.

The two actually arrived at the same time, although from different directions. Paon Bleue flopped down beside Vulpin with a wide yawn and a wince. "You okay?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at her partner.

"Long day. Got a new job at a bakery. The couple who own it are really nice, but I was definitely working my tailfeathers off."

Chat, for his part, had immediately gone to Ladybug's side, discreetly checking her over to make sure that Big Bad Vulpin hadn't done anything to his Lady while they were alone.

Vulpin, for her part, had to turn away once Chat was satisfied that Ladybug was fine and immediately followed up with a playful flirt, containing no less than _three_ puns.

It hurt, seeing Adrien able to be so happy and free behind the mask, when she knew what his day to day life was like.

And Vulpin knew, down in her bones, that what she had to say was going to hurt him. She hated herself for it, and hated Gabriel even more for hurting that sweet little kitten.

Vulpin took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "Now that we're actually all here, we need to talk. I have some… information… about our enemy."

Ladybug's eyes narrowed as she focused back on her, finger still resting on Chat's nose where she had been playfully pushing him back after he had kissed her hand. "What information?"

Vulpin closed her eyes, took a fortifying breath, and opened them again to have what would probably be the hardest conversation she would ever have in her life.

"I know who Hawkmoth is."


End file.
